DIURNAL VARIATION OF URBAN CANOPY HEAT ISLAND IN THE WET SEASON IN BENIN CITY, EDO STATE, NIGERIA

This study assessed the diurnal variation of Urban Canopy Heat Island (UCHI) in the wetseason in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Stewart and Oke (2012) system of classification wasused to classify Benin City into ten climate field sites. DS1921G – F5 Thermochroni Button datalogger was used to collect the temperature measurements from the stations. Data entry, coding,cleaning and test for normality was made following standardized procedures. Quantitativestatistical methods was employed to analyze the information collected from the field. Result ofthe analysis showed that the highest temperature in the wet season was 27.40°C, while thelowest was 24.5°C.The highest UCHI values were 2.9°C, 2.59°C and 2.47°C while the lowestvalues of UCHI were 1.24°C, 1.38°C and 1.68°C. Maximum UCHI were recorded at 15:00hours with an UCHI value of 7.13°C and6.48°while the lowest UCHI value recorded in thisseason was at 05:00 hours with a diurnal UCHI value of -0.64°C. The study thereforerecommended the use of climate-sensitive planning and design schemes such as inclusion ofbuilding codes, adoption of planning methods of green city, and green roof approaches.